Historic St. Mary's- A Great Place to Visit...

A Great Place to Call Home

By Char & Keith Cowin

Just an hour or two from suburban Maryland is the historic county of St. Mary’s and our destination for a recent weekend getaway. Although we have been Maryland residents for eight years, we have never visited St. Mary’s—Maryland’s oldest county and the location of the state’s  first capital. St. Mary’s is really a peninsula bordered by the Patuxent and Potomac rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

As we drove through the countryside, we quickly felt that St. Mary’s was different—a place that made you feel you had gone back in time 20 or 30 years. Small towns, agricultural areas, and plenty of historic sites. Although almost surrounded by water, the waterfront areas have not yet been developed; there are plenty of quiet beaches, boat docks, and small cottages. Certainly not what you see in Ocean City!

We started our tour in Leonardstown, one of the oldest towns in Maryland and also one of the oldest county seats. A pretty little town on Breton Bay with cute shops, galleries and restaurants, it is the starting point for tourists visiting the county and the scene of many local events including the Annual Spring Festival, Crab Festival, Bluegrass Music Festival, and the National Oyster Shucking Championship & Cook-off. We toured The Old Jail, a tiny building housing a few jail cells as well as the Jailer and his family. It remained in use until 1942, when the influx from the Naval base at Patuxent River made the jail obsolete.

Leaving Leonardtown, we traveled further out the peninsula to our destination for the night, a cottage on the beach of the Potomac. Small beach cottages dot the area and can be rented, usually for the season. The beach was beautiful. And, right off the beach, an osprey nest—still empty but the birds are just returning for the season. Several flew nearby and were heard calling in their very distinct voice.

 After settling in, we continued our tour with a visit to Piney Point Lighthouse. While not very tall, it is the oldest lighthouse on the Potomac , built in 1836. In season, you can climb the lighthouse, visit the museum, and spend an afternoon at their pretty beach. The site once served as a summer resort for U.S. presidents and the museum has a collection of historic wooden boats including a skipjack. Just off Piney Point is St. George Island, a small fishing community and the home of the Chesapeake Bay Field Lab and its founder, Jack Russell. When we met Jack, he was working on his car—filling it with used cooking oil—no gasoline for Jack! Among other things, Jack is the Captain of the skipjack, The Dee, where he conducts natural history and environmental education tours of the area’s waterways. Don’t miss Jack and his legendary tours!

But enough of this touring, we were hungry! Hungry for seafood! And if you can’t find seafood here, well. . . We enjoyed a meal of fresh rockfish at a local restaurant, one that didn’t look like much from the outside, but sometimes those are the best places. . . and this was no exception.

After peaceful night in our cottage on the water, we were ready to see St. Mary’s City. We had heard of St. Mary’s through friends. Their daughter, Courtney, went to St. Mary’s College where she was a member of the basketball and crew teams. We were surprised to learn that St. Mary’s is really a historic site—not a real city. It’s a living history museum and archeological park, located on the site of the state’s first capital. You can tour the 1676 Statehouse, meseum, and step onboard, The Dove, a replica of a tall ship.

As we’ve learned, St. Mary’s county has many historic sites, but the water is still the most important—beaches, boating, fishing, dining—there are several marinas, charter boat services, and water tours. And we haven’t even mentioned the golf courses and bed & breakfast Inns. They will have to wait for another trip.

TESTIMONIAL:

If someone asked me which word best describes St. Mary’s Peninsula, the word would be diverse.

For example one might see Ted Koppel (who has owned a home here for many years) walking out of the local hardware store, and a minute later watch a Mennonite family in their horse and buggy stop at the local ATM, or see a vintage Rolls Royce pass a cart pulled by four gigantic work horses. What is there not to like about St. Mary’s County?

Melissa, a longtime resident & realtor

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